Illegal fishing costs Indonesia $2-billion a year: expert

The World Today - Friday, 12 May , 2006 12:40:00

Reporter: David Weber

ELEANOR HALL: This week, the Federal Government announced $389-million would be committed to the fight against illegal fishing in Australian waters.

But a marine expert has told an expert gathering in Perth today that the cost of illegal fishing to Indonesia is even greater than it is to Australia.

Doctor Tommy Wagey is the Regional Co-ordinator of the Arafura and Timor Sea Expert Forum, and he says illegal fishing costs Indonesia $2-billion every year.

Doctor Wagey has been speaking to David Weber in Perth.

TOMMY WAGEY: The straight answer is quite bad, because we are facing not only one area of the illegal fishing that is taking place in Indonesia, and that's in the Arafura Sea, but we are facing from different fronts.

If you are familiar with the geography with Indonesia, you have the border with the Philippines in the Sulawesi Sea, and that's another place, another hotspot in Indonesia.

And another one which is quite substantial and significant is in the South China Sea area. But by far, the Arafura Sea is the main problem.

DAVID WEBER: How much is it costing the Indonesian Government or the economy of Indonesia?

TOMMY WAGEY: Up to $2-billion of this practice, the illegal practice, and that number that I just mentioned to you I guess is on the lower side of the estimates. Without the illegal fishing, currently we are at, I believe the latest number is about $US 4-billion per year.

So if you took that number – about $2-billion per year we lost to the illegal fishing – so at least 50 per cent of the total revenue from fisheries has been lost.

DAVID WEBER: Where are the boats coming from?

TOMMY WAGEY: If we start from the Arafura Sea, so most of the foreign vessels, the boats, are coming from Thailand, Taiwan, China, those are the sort of major players.

If you look at the Sulawesi Sea bordering with the Philippines, more of the vessels are coming from the Philippines, and in the South China Sea they're also vessels from Thailand and Vietnam.

DAVID WEBER: You think that Australia can help Indonesia with its problems?

TOMMY WAGEY: I believe so. I strongly believe so. We have to look at it from each country's problem.

So first we have to eliminate the illegal ones, and by doing that we should be able to put right and correct management measures in there. And I will propose there are three things that we have to do: first we have to find an alternative for these small-scale fisherman to not fish illegally. And number two, we have to put in place a good law enforcement and regulation measures and finally, we need to have a good research and scientific information.

DAVID WEBER: Indonesia takes a fairly direct approach with its navy and its fisheries department vessels, they tend to go out there and open fire on illegal fishing boats. Are you suggesting that Australian ships should have some kind of jurisdiction in Indonesian waters as well?

TOMMY WAGEY: I guess that issue is sort of out of my territory to answer, but I guess we are sharing the same border and for instance, if we could do this information sharing with the capacity that both countries have, we can resolve this.

ELEANOR HALL: The Regional Co-ordinator of the Arafura and Timor Sea Expert Forum, Dr Tommy Wagey, speaking to David Weber in Perth.